Riding The Storm Out

The highlight of my day was going to be the arrival of my husband. This of course meant that I would have to drive to the airport in Birmingham, Alabama, something I really didn't like doing.

The weather had been miserable all day but as I got ready to leave I began feeling that familiar panic attack beginning to well-up in my chest as the rain began to pick-up. I closed my eyes and prayed a little prayer. I asked God to be my co-pilot on my trip because he knew how I hated driving in the dark especially when it rained.

As I crossed the Alabama line the rain picked up in intensity it seemed to drown out the CD I had playing. Just as well I thought, I had already decided that I didn't like the book that much anyway. I also noticed that there was some low lying area flooding which also gave me some cause and I wished yet again that I didn't have to make this long drive.

At one point a vehicle drove past me in the opposite lane causing a huge sheet of water to leave me not only blind but to hydroplane also. During that blinding moment I reminded myself that I had to trust that God had heard my prayer to be my co-pilot and that he had bigger plans for me that I have yet to accomplish.

When I was able to see through my windshield again I switched off the CD and turned on the radio. It was then that I learned that I was in the midst of a storm watch which included strong winds and rain. Gee who knew?

Turns out that high winds tore the roof off a building at Shorter University and more than 19,000 customers lost electricity. Twenty-three homes and six businesses were destroyed in the initial assessment after the F-2 tornado, said Floyd County EMA Director Scotty Hancock.

Thankfully despite all of the destruction, only three minor injuries were reported,

Tornado Touches Down In NW Georgia

At least five tornadoes were reported in Georgia since the storms began Wednesday, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service. Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state emergency in a handful of counties, and that list was expected to grow.

An EF-3 tornado with 150 mph winds crossed Polk, Floyd and Bartow counties for a distance of 26 miles.

Another EF-2 tornado with maximum winds of about 140 mph ran from 6 miles southwest of Cave Spring, and tracked 26 miles through parts of Polk, Floyd and Bartow counties before lifting about 4 miles southwest of Kingston.

Tornado Warnings Left And Right

This morning I woke up to severe thunderstorm warnings. I had hoped to get to work before it started to rain but I didn't quite make it. I got all the way to work and then the skies opened. Lots of thunder and lots of rain. That was short lived though.

It was a difficult day with lots some of the kids who were acting out of sorts. You would have thought they would have behaved better since tomorrow was the prom. Some kids didn't seem to care about that.

They came to my classroom today and fixed the content filter in my class, the media center, and another teacher's class. Thank God that was fixed.

When I left school we wound up under a severe thunderstorm warning. The radio chronicled a tornado from that storm touching down in Tennessee, possibly killing three. The dark clouds were lapping at my feet. Within fifteen minutes of my arrival the tornado siren went off. A tornado might have been been spied up the road in White, Georgia.

We listened and watched but no storm appeared. Then about fifteen minutes after that it began pouring down rain. Lots of thunder and some lightening. In the distance the alarm is being sounded again.

Here are the blog contests I entered tonight:

Prizes (4): Easter gift basket filled with an assortment of Berroco yarns and organic chocolate.

Prize: Marley & Me 2-disc Bad Dog Edition DVD.

Prize: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars video game for Nintendo DS, set of chopstick styli and t-shirt (ARV $34.99).

Prizes (5): Two boxes of Electrasol Finish Quantum and two bottles of Jet Dry Turbo Dry.

Prize: Animal Planet Emergency Vets video game for Nintendo DS.

Prizes (5): Two boxes of Electrasol Finish Quantum dishwashing detergent and two bottles of Jet Dry Turbo Dry.

Prize: Exergen TemporalScanner thermometer.

Prize: $50 Visa gift card.

Today Started Out Rainy

I drove to work in the dark with the rain coming down making it difficult to see. It cleared up later in the day only to find us under a tornado warning. As I sat in the faculty meeting at the end of the day I watched the dark clouds in the distance.

On my way home I was listening to the radio when the warning changed to a watch. The weather alert said a tornado had touched down in Cartersville near Cass and was headed towards White around 4:35.

The back storm clouds weren't the only thing making me nervous today. In the faculty meeting we were notified that things next year are looking even worse. Originally we didn't think we would be cutting any teachers. We were notified today that class sizes would increase next year and that they will be eliminating twelve faculty jobs system wide. I could just feel my stomach drop. Dr. Evans says he hopes that this can be handled through attrition.

For the remainder of the year there will be no money for field trips, no money for professional leave or conferences. The budget was explained as to why there were new computers going into many of the rooms at Rome High in the face of all these cut backs. You see in schools there are different funds and each fund spells out specifically what can be purchased with those monies. You can't use Title One Money for things like field trips, etc, etc. So there was money for new computers but not necessarily for teacher salaries next year.

Even while I am typing this I can hear another storm headed this way. We can see the lightening in the distance and hear the thunder rumble. I hope that it isn't going to be as bad as the earlier storm.

I saw an article on the news about a blog where the woman was going to live on $1,500 a year with a family of four. Actually that's a little deceptive because they aren't living off that. That's the amount they are spending each month on their personal items. Here's what it says:

On 1/1/09, my family (2 adults, 1 preschooler and 1 toddler) decided to create the challenge to live on $1,500 for one year for groceries, household items and personal expenses (haircuts, medical copays). I started diligently using coupons in July 2008 and we built up a decent stockpile last year. Our 2009 goal is to make the most of what we have in our household and see if it is really possible for four people to survive on $1,500 for one year.

They are living off stockpiles and she doesn't count the cost of those stockpiles in her calculations. It's good to want to save money but I think you should be honest on how you are able to do it. I checked out her blog and it's really a story and that aspect is good. I have some articles in my thrifty maven but there are also things that are just about savings.

Perhaps I should rethink what I'm doing with Thrifty Maven. I'm thinking about writing a series of articles about dealing with layoffs. I will have to speak with Darryl though.

I have to close before the storm hits.

Lots of Flooding in Floyd County

Tuesday's deluge dumped more than 5 inches of rain on Rome. More than 21 county roads were closed Tuesday. Rome’s rivers were also surging near
flood stage Tuesday night. The Oostanaula River at Turner McCall Boulevard had risen about 10 feet during the day, reaching the 23.82-foot mark. Flood stage is 25 feet. The Etowah River at the Rome bypass was at 29.69 feet at 10 p.m. Flood stage is 32 feet. 911 dispatchers reported a tornado had been spotted on Black’s Bluff Road near Lock & Dam Park and another in Coosa, where gusts of straight-line winds were reported yesterday.

No problems today though. The day started out wet but warm and the temperature continued to drop all day. Big news in Fayette County (which is out near Lake Lanier) is facing cutbacks so they are asking teachers to give up a 2% pay raise so they won't have to lay off employees. Employees have to vote for that but I doubt they will. I believe I would give up the raise, even though I could obviously use that raise right now because Darryl was laid off. I would hate to think my raise would prevent others from keeping their job. I wasn't sure where Fayette County was until I saw the news story on the news and I was shocked. I'd actually been there. I had to go there a few years ago as part of a certification program thing. I recognized their school board right away.

I was just so thrilled. Someone actually checked out Thrifty Maven and even left two comments. God Bless you because I truly wanted to cry. I feel like I'm working so hard on that to develop it and no one has checked it out. Then bam two comments. I wanted to leap out of my seat and dance around the room.


I entered some more blog sweeps. I'm still waiting for my first win for this year.

Prizes (3): Strappys decorative bra strap.

Prize: Box of 30 personalized My Fruit Roll-ups.

Prizes (2): Contract Killers DVD.

Prize: SHI SHU BABY blanket

Prize: $20 Fandango gift certificate

Prize: Duo earrings from Twisted Silver